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1. Rotation

The Shadow Impale playstyle is quite different from other Demon Hunter builds,
almost exclusively pursuing Elite enemies to take advantage of its massive single
target potential, and skipping many disadvantageous trash fights. When in need of
immediate crowd control, or simply to move through the rift at an efficient pace,
do not forget to pre-cast Impale — this will make Vault
free for 2 seconds with the power of Chain of Shadows. When you come across
an elite that you consider killable, focus it down and alternate crowd control
plus knockback from VaultRattling Roll with stationary Impale spam
to maximize the Endless Walk set benefits. Position and manage your resources
with the Lightning cycle of Convention of Elements and the damage increase
of Wolf Companion in mind, as the two buffs active at the same time make
up your big burst window. Shadow Power needs to be activated only once per
run, but you will have to manually reapply your other two defensive buffs —
Vengeance and Fan of KnivesBladed Armor — as soon as they are
off cooldown.

2. Skills, Runes and Passives

Impale is the primary damage dealer of the build, augmented by the
Shadow set 6-piece bonus to deal 50 000% additional damage on the first target
hit, resulting in the signature assassination playstyle. While other rune choices
(such as the cold Overpenetration) are viable, the lightning rune
Ricochet is generally preferred for its consistency (bouncing
daggers vs narrow lined shots), as well as its additional hits proccing the
unique property of Karlei's Point dagger, ensuring resource stability.

The swiss knife Companion skill takes on a role of a damage buff by
taking the Wolf Companion rune, providing you with a sizable
multiplicative damage increase. While the Wolf Companion buff sports a
generous 10-second uptime, this build runs a moderate amount of Cooldown
Reduction on gear — so try to reserve the Companion active for key
moments (preferably the Lightning Convention of Elements cycle).

During solo GR pushes Vault is not only taken as a movement skill, but
also as a source of crowd control with Rattling Roll. To sweeten the deal,
the knockback of the rune will also trigger the worn Strongarm Bracers.
Always keep in mind the power of the Chain of Shadows belt, allowing you to
negate the Discipline cost of Vault for a 2-second window after using
Impale, allowing you to cover significant ground for free.

Unsurprisingly, Shadow Power is a major part of a Shadow set playstyle,
as the 4-piece set bonus grants you the effects of all the runes and makes the
skill last forever. This makes the rune choice purely cosmetic, since they
produce differently colored wings. You should activate Shadow Power
immediately upon entering the rift to passively enjoy its damage reduction
bonuses, movement speed increase, and increased Life per Hit that notably scales
with your Life on Kill from gear. Remember that the benefits of Night Bane
will still only apply for the listed 5 seconds, so you can use
Shadow Power as a situational 8 Discipline active skill to proc
Bane of the Trapped, Cull the Weak and Numbing Traps.

The class staple Vengeance reinforces dominance in yet another build,
favored by Impale Demon Hunters for the 50% damage reduction of the
Dark Heart rune.

You can adjust your final active skill slot according to content. In solo
Greater Rift pushes, consider taking Fan of Knives for the toughness boost
of Bladed Armor — you can make it permanent with a minor CDR
investment, and it offers perfect synergy with Numbing Traps and
Cull the Weak.

This concludes the overview of the Active Skills, now let us look through the
Passives.

Demon Hunters are notoriously frail, and the Shadow Hunter playstyle has the
odds stacked against it with its daredevil dive in, dive out gameplay.
Unsurprisingly, Awareness comes with the highest recommendation,
serving as a cheat death on a standard 60-second cooldown.

Cull the Weak is taken in both solo and group GR progression for the 20%
multiplicative damage increase against Slowed or Chilled enemies. In groups, said
crowd control will be applied by support party members. When soloing, it needs to
be applied passively in point blank range from the 15-yard
Bane of the Trapped slow, and active use of Fan of Knives and
Shadow Power.

While you solo push and farm, Ambush will be a great addition against
single target, higher health enemies like Champions and Rift Guardians. Its 40%
bonus damage against the first 25% of the target health pool is multiplicative in
nature, allowing you to chew through the first quarter of the fight very
efficiently.

Your final passive slot will vary according to content. In solo GR progression,
it is recommended you take Numbing Traps for the consistent 25% damage
reduction from surrounding enemies.

About the Author

This build is presented to you by Deadset,
one of the very few professional Diablo 3 players.
Deadset regularly publishes video guides on
Youtube and
streams on Twitch, where you can
see how this and other builds play out in practice.